


just to relax

by angstandcaffeine



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Other, absolutely no attempts to figure out valence's biology are made
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:28:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22853989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angstandcaffeine/pseuds/angstandcaffeine
Summary: Valence and Broun have a casual thing going. Strictly casual, of course.
Relationships: Kal'mera Broun/Valence
Comments: 1
Kudos: 27





	just to relax

“God, that was fucking something, huh?” Broun sighed. They had supposedly been on an easy job, a milk run, but instead the SBBR had been surprised by an Orion squad that came out of nowhere with a trio of extra boosted Troops.

“We did obtain extra cargo,” Thisbe pointed out as she began to unload the additional crates they stole from said Orion squad.

“I’m just glad we all made it out of there.” Valence stepped out of their mech and moved to help Thisbe.

“Sure, Valence, but the fact that we can charge extra makes this a lot sweeter for me.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I would never deny you the power of a paycheck.”

They snorted. “Like you’re not getting paid too.” Broun rolled their shoulder and groaned. They’d taken a pretty gnarly hit that left the Three Cheers! scratched up and themself bruised. “I don’t know how many more Orion surprises I can take, though. After this one, I’m gonna need to relax.”

The wolf mask smiled, and Valence tilted their head, silently asking a question. Broun flushed. _That_ hadn’t been what they’d meant at all, but they certainly weren’t opposed to it. They checked that Thisbe wasn’t looking, then gave a curt nod and mouthed, “Meet me in ten.”

Valence grinned and turned away, cloak sweeping over their shoulder.

They’d had a few of these rendez-vous, to blow off steam after jobs or when a project wasn’t working.

The first time, Kal’mera had awkwardly asked if the mask was staying on. Valence had casually dismissed it, a fact which had made them feel easy in the moment but had made them wonder ever since if Valence was hooking up with anybody else.

Which would be fine, obviously. A few sessions in a supply closet wasn’t dating, or anything close to it. That would be ridiculous. It was just… Valence had been in their thoughts a lot more lately for some reason. Sudden memories of gloved hands on their gills would pop up without warning, or they’d imagine Valence’s smile when they spoke over comms.

God, they had plans. They had jobs to do and a ship to buy. They didn’t need this.

Broun collected themself. The point of all this was to relax. There was no point in getting worked up about it.

***

When they slipped inside the supply closet, Valence was waiting for them. They looked impressively casual, as if leaning against the wall with a shelf full of windshield cleaner above their head could be considered cool somehow. Inside, Broun felt anything but casual, heart racing against their will.

“Hello,” Valence greeted them once they had shut the door.

“Hey.”

“How’s your shoulder?”

Broun rolled it again. “It’s definitely been better.”

“Do you think I could help?”

“By all means, go ahead.” Valence reached out to rub their shoulder. It felt pretty good, but Broun could tell what the actual point of the gesture was: Valence’s thumb teased the edge of the gills on their neck. Broun sighed, letting their head roll to one side.

“Is something else going on?”

“No?”

Valence continued working with their hands. “Are you sure? You feel really tense.”

“Yeah, almost dying will do that to you.”

Valence laughed at that. “Oh, come on. As far as almost deaths go, you’ve certainly had worse.” They moved their head so it felt like they were staring Broun down directly, which did not help their nerves at all. They swallowed.

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” Broun stuck their knee between Valence’s thighs, hoping to distract them with friction. It worked for a moment, and Valence let out a low groan.

But then they came back to their senses. “You’re not getting out of this that easy. What’s going on?” They made as much space between them as they could, which wasn’t much in the tight closet.

Against their better judgment, Broun blurted out, “Are you hooking up with anybody else?”

Valence cocked their head to the side. “Huh.”

“It’s fine if you are. I just wanna know so I can, you know, get tested or whatever. It’s not a big deal or anything.”

Valence laughed. “Broun, I’m not… doing this with anyone else.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“And I don’t think it’s likely that I will be.”

“Oh? Why… why not?”

“Because of all of this,” Valence said, gesturing at their face and their clothes. “Most people don’t read this as inviting.”

“Fair enough,” Broun laughed, but didn’t say anything else, resolved not to confirm or deny that they found Valence inviting. “And I’m not either. For the record.”

“Good to know.” Valence’s voice trailed off as they stepped forward again, placing their hands on Broun’s hips.

**Author's Note:**

> hey im like 99% sure i did the right thing with kal'meras name? im pretty sure they introduced themself as mera in episode 8 but if i fucked it up let me know so i can fix it!!
> 
> you can find me on twitter @angstcaffeine


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